6.8-Magnitude Earthquake Hits Northeastern Japan

A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.8 struck off Japan's northeastern coast Friday, Japan's Meteorological Agency said.

No damages or injuries have been reported so far.

The local meteorological authority issued a 5o cm tsunami alert for the Fukushima and Miyagi Prefectures, but the warning was lifted 30 minutes later.

The quake was registered at 2:36 p.m. local time and was centered about 300 kilometers northeast of Tokyo and at a depth of 20 kilometers, slightly south of the place where the magnitude-9.0 earthquake struck March 11, the Bulgarian Telegraph Agency reported, citing international news agencies.

The tremor caused buildings in Tokyo to sway. Bullet trains and several other local train services in the region were temporarily suspended for safety checks.

Japan's Meteorological Agency warned the local population that aftershocks could follow.

There were no abnormalities in key equipment at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, said representatives of Tokyo Electric Power Co., the plant's operator. The workers which were at the plant during the quake were briefly evacuated.

On March 11, the northeastern coast was struck by a magnitude-9 earthquake, the strongest on record in Japan, and a massive tsunami that triggered the world's worst nuclear crisis in 25 years at the Fukushima Daiichi plant. The disaster left about 20,400 dead or missing.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!